Swiss researchers in Eth Zurich have developed a technique of extracting gold from e-waste utilizing cheese-produced whey proteins. This new methodology illustrates the potential for e-waste that’s usually ignored and ends in landfills as a helpful supply of gold that may be reused for a sustainable gold restoration.
This course of entails the creation of sponges created from protein fibers obtained from dairy byproducts, significantly from whey-derived amyloid protein nanofibrils. These nanofibrils are used to fabricate porous aerogels that act like gold sponges. When immersed in an answer of steel extracted from a pc motherboard, the sponge effectively attracts dissolved gold ions.
To get gold, scientists first dissolve the steel parts of e-waste in an acidic tub and launch the steel within the type of ions. Protein fiber sponges selectively seize gold ions, however different metals akin to copper and nickel are to not a really excessive diploma. Gold ions hooked up to protein fibers are lowered to stable gold particles upon heating.
Once gold is captured, the sponge is heated, and the captured gold ions are lowered to stable flakes, then melting to kind a small nugget of about 450 milligrams, containing 91% pure gold, between 21 and 22 carats It is classed as: From simply 20 previous pc motherboards, researchers had been capable of extract about $33 in gold nuggets.
“We cannot get something extra sustainable!” mentioned Professor Raffaele Mezzenga of Eth Zurich. [https://www.infobae.com/tecno/2025/02/06/sabias-que-tienes-una-mina-de-oro-entre-manos-con-telefono-y-pc-hasta-oro-de-22-kilates/]. “The prices related to acquiring uncooked supplies and power consumption are 50 occasions decrease than the worth of the gold recovered,” Metzenga mentioned. [https://eldiariony.com/2025/02/06/la-cantidad-de-oro-que-termina-en-la-basura-cuando-tiramos-un-celular-o-computadora/].
Researchers additionally demonstrated that Aerogel can act as a template to transform gold ions into single crystal flakes, bettering the standard of the recovered steel.
E-waste is a rising drawback world wide, with hundreds of thousands of gadgets being dumped annually. Metal parts of digital waste akin to pc motherboards decompose in ionic options.
This article was written in collaboration with the generator AI firm Alchemiq